Report: Netflix battling with Prince estate over nine-hour documentary

An upcoming Prince documentary is reportedly being held up because there’s just too much of it.

Puck News reports that back in 2018, Netflix made a deal with the Prince estate for a documentary that was initially supposed to be directed by Ava DuVernay. She was replaced by O.J. Made in America director Ezra Edelman, who was allowed to use Prince’s music and archives for the project.

But while reports claim the documentary has been finished for a while, the problem is Prince’s estate and executors don’t like it.

Sources tell Puck News the estate has issues with parts of the doc they deem inaccurate, and they are using a technicality to keep Netflix from airing it. It seems the contract Netflix has with the estate calls for the streamer to make a six-hour doc, while Edelman’s final cut is nine hours. The estate is using the difference to hold up the doc.

While the two sides are trying to come to an agreement, so far they haven’t been able to. It doesn’t help that the Prince estate is divided between Prince Legacy, made up of his family and friends, and Prince OAT Holdings, controlled by Primary Wave Music, and the two sides must agree on anything Prince related.

A source tells the New York Post the estate is “incredibly nitpicky” when it comes to anything having to do with Prince’s legacy.

“You never saw Prince release anything subpar. Everything was carefully curated and fine-tuned. The estate still holds that high standard,” says the source, who notes the series “does not accurately portray the legendary Prince.”